Connor and the Crooner
by ErinM
Summary: Stephen's back to work, but Natalie's already there. With a new hobby. *post-series.


**Title**: Connor and the Crooner  
**Author**: Erin (erinm_)  
**Characters, Pairing**: Stephen and Natalie (mention of Frank, Jack, Lisa and Kate)  
**Rating**: PG  
**Summary**: Stephen's back to work, but Natalie's already there. With a new hobby.  
**Warning**: post-series. *Written for Prompt Challenge 01 at **stephen_natalie** on LiveJournal. Prompt 02-10: **Music**  
**Disclaimer**: The original characters belongs to NBC and their respective actors.

Stephen Connor moved through the dark hallways of the National Institutes of Health and took a deep breath. He'd been away for nearly three months, keeping the promise he'd made to Jack in the wilds of Central America, and was finally reorganized and rededicated to work.

The time with Jack had been wonderful - he only worried about work a few times - and talked to Frank on a regular basis, letting him know they were all right so that the rest of the team wouldn't worry. They also made one or two stops, to check in on former patients, because Stephen was Stephen.

But, the best part of the trip was that the Connor boys reached their goal. Once the team returned to Bethesda, Stephen made it a point to see Jack once a week - occasionally, the days shifted due to cases - and they prepared and planned for an entire summer of just them, doing whatever they wanted.

Stephen could tell that Lisa wasn't too happy about the idea, but Jack was excited and, truth be told, so was Stephen. She finally told him that since he knew enough to know he needed a break, she was willing to give him a chance. But the _second_ Jack wanted to come home...

Trip plans ranged from educational to completely ridiculous, and always seemed to go off to other topics. One Saturday afternoon - Stephen was at the house, helping Jack put together a school project for his science class - Lisa suggested off-handedly that the boys should visit every Major League ballpark in the country.

One of her co-workers had done the trip the year before and the boys loved baseball. Really, she just didn't want to hear about the third largest ball of twine and the home of the second triple peanut ever discovered in the lower 48 again. And if Stephen told Jack about that damn health museum one more time, she was going to start construction on the fourth largest ball of twine.

Stephen told Jack he was in charge of the planning, so Jack went crazy. He got the Spring Training and pre-season schedules for every team, the stadium locations and a map. Lisa was content that the was doing something constructive and brought home a wall map of the United States and a box of pushpins, knowing this little vacation was going to ruin the wall.

-*-

Stephen knew there would be a lot to do his first day back - reading reports, which would probably be interrupted by a case - and he couldn't sleep, so he decided it was time to get back into the groove of being at the office during all hours of the night.

He didn't know how the team would react to his return; according to Frank, they'd all been "reassigned" by Kate the day after Stephen took his leave. What if they liked their current spots and didn't want to be back with him? _'Well,'_ hed decided, _if that's their wish, I have to deal with it.'_

Jack had chimed in around Indiana that even if they weren't with him any more, they were still his friends and he would see them. Stephen smiled at the memory; both of the Connor boys had grown up a lot over the summer. And they had fun, which was the most important part.

Running through his usual checklist, Stephen stopped in the hallway as the sound of trumpets caught his ear. Frowning slightly, Stephen turned his ear toward the sound and began moving in the direction he thought it was coming from.

As he reached the turn in the hallway, Stephen could see the lights on in Natalie's space. He could also see her reflection in the glass of his office wall, nodding along to the music. Loud as it was down the hall, it was much louder inside her space. He smiled as Natalie began acting out the horn and drum parts with her pen, pumping her fist in the air.

He moved to the doorway and leaned against the frame, trying no to laugh. When she repeated the motions, Stephen had to look at his shoes for a moment to compose himself. He didn't know who this woman was, but it surely wasn't Natalie Durant. Apparently he wasn't the only one to change over the summer.

He watched her through the rest of the song and, as the next one started, Stephen decided that whatever had happened to Natalie over the last three months, he liked her taste in music. Part of him wanted to announce his presence, but part of him wanted to see how long it would take for her to realize he was there.

Before, she'd have known he was there the second he set foot in the hallway. But between the music and the paperwork, she was oblivious. The next song began and Stephen actually had to blink at the lyrics of "...and if you want a doctor, I'll examine every inch of you..."

And then, for whatever reason, Stephen's mind wandered to an image of the two of them dancing at the NIH's Christmas party the year before. Honestly, they both had been trying to avoid other people and deemed it safest to dance with each other. And the plan had worked, because Kate left Stephen alone and the guy from Logistics who was following Natalie around moved on to someone else.

Stephen blinked back to reality when Natalie stood up and moved around her work table, heading for the counter where a CD player sat. He smirked, as she didn't even notice him standing there, and watched as she nodded her head to a silent tune and switched out the CD for another, then pushed a button on controls a few times.

A rather upbeat song started and Stephen smiled again at the lyrics. Natalie bobbed her head along to the tune and flipped through a few folders sitting on the counter. As the chorus hit, Natalie turned around and froze at the sight of Stephen, arms crossed and eyebrow raised. Her eyes went wide and she glanced at the floor for a second before turning to reached for the power button on the player.

"Don't turn it off on my account," he said with a smile. Natalie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then wondered for a moment why she was embarrassed. It's not like he was her boss any more. Turning the volume down a bit, Natalie turned to Stephen and nodded once.

"Connor." She threw a glance to her chair and decided to play it cool, as if he hadn't just found her rocking out in the middle of the night. As she moved back around the table, Stephen pushed off the wall and stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

She ducked around him but his arm shot out and he grabbed her shoulder. "Hi," he said after a moment, leaning down slightly to give her a grin. Natalie pressed her tongue to her teeth and let a smile slip.

"Hello, Stephen." Stephen smiled and let go of her shoulder, turning with her as she continued to move back to her chair. Crossing his arms again, Stephen leaned against the table and watched Natalie for a moment before reaching for one of the reports.

"And here I was just expecting to spend a quiet night in the office, catching up on three months of cases and I get music and a show. I should have brought dinner." Natalie bit back a smartass comment and smiled, never taking her eyes off her paperwork.

"I believe that they are serving breakfast now," Natalie said a moment later, realizing that she had forgotten to eat dinner. Closing her eyes and letting her head drop slightly, even Stephen knew that she had skipped a meal.

"Good to see some things never change," he said with a slight smile. "C'mon," he said, holding out a hand. "Let's get some breakfast and you can catch me up." Natalie looked at his offered hand and her eyes narrowed slightly. Letting out a deep breath, she knew that he wouldn't stop asking, and she was hungry. She nodded and set her pen down, glancing up to her friend.

"Fine, but you're paying." Stephen nodded and pushed off the table. As they reached the door, Stephen placed a hand on Natalie's shoulder and he dropped his voice.

"So... what's with the crooner?" Natalie glared at him and he laughed. As they moved down the hallway, the CD continued to play, having jumped to another new track.

_Songs__:  
It Had Better Be Tonight - horns  
I'm Your Man - lyrics  
Save the Last Dance for Me - new CD  
I've Got You Under My Skin - second track_


End file.
